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North Andover Scarlet Knights Boys Basketball '10-'11

Wed, Mar 02, 2011 07:30 PM @ North Andover
Team 1 2 3 4 Final
Melrose 10 10 9 21 50
North Andover 9 16 12 18 55

Karalis, Knights drop Melrose

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Wednesday, March, 02 By Hector Longo

 NORTH ANDOVER – Flustered for the first time in last night’s Division 2 North first round matchup with Melrose, North Andover simply put the basketball and the game in Zach Karalis able hands.

“It was the fourth quarter, I was trying to be aggressive,” said the junior guard, who had watched the Knights’ once-comfy 13-point lead sliced to three at 3 at 39-36. “I wanted it in my hands, because I’m the captain. I wanted the ball in my hands.”

Karalis sliced through Melrose for 11 of his game-high 21 points as the Knights kept their distance in the win, 55-50. Next up for third-seeded North Andover is No. 6 Woburn, here at Crozier Fieldhouse Sunday at a yet to be announced time.

“I keep wanting to say he’s a senior, but he’s a three-year varsity guy,” said Knights’ coach Mike McVeigh. “He made some huge shots. If they’re going to gamble defensively, you have to make them pay. Karalis was first on it.”

McVeigh, now in his 29th season, wasn’t about to undersell any tourney win, especially one against a quality Middlesex League opponent.

“This was a very good team, and a good win,” said the Knight coach. “That’s a team that beat Lexington by 10 two weeks ago. And we know how hard it is to win a tournament game.”

Clearly, after Karalis late heroics, the one number that stands out is 50 points allowed by the Knights, who led 25-20 at halftime and 37-29 after three.

North Andover built its 2-3 zone around an inside sandwich of Melrose bruiser Andrew Scocca (18.3 ppg).

“We sold the kids on it, they bought it,” said McVeigh. “We jammed him. Everybody knew if we played one on one with him we were in trouble. Coaches can talk but kids play, and they played very well.”

Karalis put up his numbers on 7 of 14 shooting and also found spare time to grab seven boards. Jimmy Warden added seven points, and Derek Collins chipped in six.

North Andover can now spend a couple days focused on their next Middlesex League hurdle, the Tanners of Woburn here Sunday.“It’s a great feeling getting that first one,” said Karalis. “But we know we can’t get too high over it.”

Game Statistics:

Melrose (50):  Denzel Jones 3 5-7 12, Aaron Welch 2 0-0 4, Nathaniel Trippe 1 0-0 2, Ryan Joyal 1 0-0 2, Ryan Sherlock 4 0-0 8, Andrew Scocca 2 3-4 8, Matt Sherlock 5 2-4 14, Totals 18 10-15 50

North Andover (55): Zach Karalis 7 4-5 21 Isaiah Nelsen 2 0-0 5, Collin Hubbell 1 2-5 5, Derek Collins 2 0-0 6, Jimmy Warden 3 2-2 9, Sean Erb 1 0-0 3, Mike Moroney 2 0-0 4, Colby Smith 1 0-2 2, Totals 19 8-14 55

3-pointers: M — Jones, Scocca, Sherlock 2; NA — Karalis 3, Nelsen, Hubbell, Collins 2, Warden, Erb

 

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